TOBY JOYCE,
Sir, - George Orwell pointed out in his Notes on Nationalism that much "pacifist" propaganda seldom expresses impartial disapproval but is directed almost entirely against Britain and America. In his column of September 11th, Vincent Browne lives up to expectation.
America's behaviour during the Iran-Iraq War was a "crime against humanity", he asserts. He conveniently forgets that Iraq, which was the aggressor, was then a client of the Soviet Union and conducted the war with Soviet-supplied weapons. In fact, the US had little or no influence with either side during the war, and its interventions were more inept than immoral.
He also claims that commemorating the dead of September 11th somehow insults the memory of the Afghans killed since that day. Does commemoration automatically imply disrespect for some other dead? Does commemorating the Blitz show disrespect for the dead of Dresden, or vice versa? "Get real" is the best response to this nonsense.
Mr Browne, of course, likes to concentrate on the few thousand dead Afghans since September 11th. He studiously avoids mention of the million or more killed by the Soviets, the Taliban or other factions in the 20 years of previous war in Afghanistan. - Yours, etc.,
TOBY JOYCE,
Balreask Manor,
Navan,
Co Meath.